Out of the Storm (Buckhorn, Montana #1) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,8
change for bed.
* * *
“WHO WAS THAT?”
Shirley Langer turned around to find her lover standing in the doorway of her apartment behind the motel office. At forty-three with two marriages and divorces behind her, she often questioned what kept her in Buckhorn besides this rundown motel. Her mother’s boyfriend owned the place and had hired her to run it. It gave her a place to live and him a tax write-off. Shirley got whatever money came in as her wages minus twenty percent. This time of year, though, she could go for days without a guest.
So, basically she had a dead-end job and was sneaking around like a teenager. But when she thought about getting out of this town, she’d see Lars Olson and remember what kept her here.
“Get back in there before anyone sees you,” she said, laughing. She figured in a town this size everyone probably knew about the two of them, except for Tina. A redhead with a temper, no one wanted to cross Tina Mullen. Shirley’d had nightmares about Lars’s live-in girlfriend coming in the back door of the motel’s apartment, catching the two of them in bed and shooting them both.
“I didn’t know you were coming by tonight,” she said to Lars, glad to see him. She had been bored out of her mind before her only guests had shown up. “You have to quit sneaking in my back door. You’re going to get us both killed.”
Lars laughed. “Put the No Vacancy sign on and get your butt in here. I saw the way you were looking at that fella.”
“Shoot, you know I don’t like those good-looking, strong, rich, still-single types.” She leaned against the counter and felt his gaze take in the deep V of her shirt. Before turning around at the sound of his voice, she’d released a couple of buttons to expose part of her lacy bra. Lars wasn’t blond or rich or really single or even all that good-looking. But he had a way about him. He made her feel desirable because he couldn’t stay away from her—even though he had one hell of a lot to lose if they got caught.
“What if more good-looking guys like him come in tonight looking for a room?” she asked, still not moving.
“They’ll be out of luck. You heard me, Shirley. Turn on the sign.”
She grinned and reached behind her. Outside the No on the vacancy sign came on, barely visible through the falling snow. “Wanna tell me what you’re here for?”
“I’d rather show you,” he said. “Damn it, woman, quit playing hard to get. I don’t have much time before I have to go home.”
Just the reminder of his girlfriend waiting for him was almost enough to make her send him packing without what he’d come for. But the truth was she wanted him as much he wanted her. Also she understood Lars’s situation.
He had moved in with the daughter of the town’s wealthiest family. Not only that, his employer was Tina’s father. Axel Mullen owned the grocery store, acted as pastor on Sundays at the small church and owned a string of cabins where you could rent horses in the summer. The Giddy-Up Cabins were closed for the season. But Lars also plowed snow for the incorporated city, of which Axel was mayor.
If that wasn’t enough, a rumor had been circulating that Tina was pregnant. Lars swore there was no way it was his. He and Tina had been on the outs for months, according to him. If she really was pregnant, Lars said, it was someone else’s child. But now Axel and his wife, Vi Mullen, the local postmistress, were both pushing Lars and Tina toward marriage.
Shirley could understand the kind of pressure he was under. He wanted to move out, but the house he and Tina lived in was the only one available in Buckhorn right now. He’d have to wait until spring or have nowhere to live—not to mention he’d be out of both jobs.
As much as Lars had talked about marrying Shirley, they both knew it would mean leaving Buckhorn broke with no idea what they would live on. Their love for each other was just another complication, especially in the winter.
She brushed her short bleached blond hair back from her face and turned out the office light. Good sense told her that what she was doing was dangerous. Axel Mullen owned this town, almost literally. He and his wife could make their lives miserable. Not to mention